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In Switzerland, gun ownership is high but mass shootings are low. Why?
Big Think ^ | 2019 | Matt Davis

Posted on 08/11/2019 12:08:30 PM PDT by CondoleezzaProtege

Swiss gun ownership remains fairly high for Europe — there are about 27.5 guns for every 100 people in Switzerland — Pro-gun advocates in the U.S. often point to Switzerland to prove that high gun ownership doesn't necessarily mean high gun deaths.

Where Switzerland does shine - is in its low number of mass shootings. It hasn't had one since 2001, when a man raided the local government body in Zug, killing 14 people before himself. This said, there are a few factors that may play into their lower rates of mass shootings.

First, Switzerland has mandatory military service for able-bodied adult men, and women may volunteer for military service as well. Mandatory conscription is actually extremely popular in Switzerland, with 73 percent of Swiss citizens voting against a referendum to abolish the practice. After their military service, the Swiss are kept in reserve until age 30–34, if they were an officer — during which time they must keep their service weapon. As a result, many Swiss people own firearms and are highly trained in their use by default. In contrast, if a U.S. citizen lives in a particularly permissive state, they can buy a gun without any kind of training whatsoever.

Furthermore, Swiss civilians must demonstrate that they are physically, intellectually, and mentally capable prior to conscription in the army (source in French). While this is a requirement for service in the U.S. military, it is not required for gun ownership in many states in America. Since many Swiss citizens obtain their weapons through the military, this acts as a major avenue by which gun owners' capability can be verified.

(Excerpt) Read more at bigthink.com ...


TOPICS: Military/Veterans; Society
KEYWORDS: banglist; draft; guns; militarydraft; switzerland
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To: DoodleBob

I have a copy of that book in my personal library. The other thing I recall about Kopel’s chapter on Swiss society is how very family and community based it is (including the social programs) and, as per the quote you shared from the book, how firearms ownership is part of Swiss society in that regard. You would never ever see there Democrat handout philosophy accompanied by an urban underclass characterized by generational welfare dependency, drug and alcohol abuse, single parents, illiteracy, and other related things common to what is in Washington DC, Philadelphia, New York City, Atlanta, Toronto, Los Angeles, Chicago, and other large North American cities.


21 posted on 08/11/2019 12:34:12 PM PDT by OttawaFreeper ("The Gardens was founded by men-sportsmen-who fought for their country" Conn Smythe, 1966)
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To: CondoleezzaProtege

It’s a mystery.


22 posted on 08/11/2019 12:36:04 PM PDT by riri
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Comment #23 Removed by Moderator

To: CondoleezzaProtege

Why?

No racial diversity and never mentioned to be an asset.


24 posted on 08/11/2019 12:37:36 PM PDT by 353FMG
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To: CondoleezzaProtege

I’ve heard it’s because EVERYONE has a gun there. So the bad guys figure that no matter what they do, the other guy will have a gun. Have also heard that gun ownership is mandatory there, but don’t know if that’s true.


25 posted on 08/11/2019 12:37:54 PM PDT by MayflowerMadam ("The best way to get a bad law repealed is to enforce it strictly." A. Lincoln)
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To: Norman Knight

So the conclusion is we should have picked our own cotton (19th Century and earlier truism) and picked our own lettuce (20th Century and later truism).


26 posted on 08/11/2019 12:42:34 PM PDT by T-Bird45 (It feels like the seventies, and it shouldn't.)
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To: Aut Pax Aut Bellum

Ethnic purity is a major factor in keeping civil order. Look at the example of Japan which admits almost NO outsiders for citizenship, and has no internal Muslim problem at all.

Swiss ethnicity has been a binding factor in their non-involvement in international treaty agreements, regardless of the fact they have four different languages (French, Italian, a form of German, and Romesh, a form of Latin) spoken within their borders, plus most Swiss are at least somewhat conversant in English. Most of the families there have roots going back well before the formation of Charlemagne’s Holy Roman Empire, and some all the way back to the original Roman Empire itself.

Male descendants of Swiss families who have emigrated elsewhere are eligible to apply for Swiss citizenship, if they so choose to return. Citizenship is almost never granted to any others, though Switzerland has often harbored foreign nationals as legal residents, but it is abundantly clear that even these legal residents do not enjoy the same rights as the Swiss citizen.

Persons who are not formally accepted as legal residents are dealt with much more severely, from extended detention to forcible expulsion.


27 posted on 08/11/2019 12:49:23 PM PDT by alloysteel (Nowhere in the Universe is there escape from the consequences of the crime of stupidity.)
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To: dfwgator
Culture matters

Saudi Arabia has a low crime rate. Mmmmm I wonder why?

28 posted on 08/11/2019 12:50:38 PM PDT by seawolf101 (Member LES DEPLORABLES)
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To: CondoleezzaProtege

No ghettos full of Amish?


29 posted on 08/11/2019 1:00:25 PM PDT by doorgunner69
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To: CondoleezzaProtege

North Korea has a very low crime rate.


30 posted on 08/11/2019 1:00:54 PM PDT by familyop ("Welcome to Costco. I love you." - -Costco greeter in the movie, "Idiocracy")
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To: CondoleezzaProtege

Full fat grass fed dairy?
An actual healthy society?
You’ll get smoked if you try a mass shooting?


31 posted on 08/11/2019 1:04:37 PM PDT by EEGator
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To: CondoleezzaProtege

” Why?”

Huh mah jeh nay ity ?


32 posted on 08/11/2019 1:06:40 PM PDT by litehaus (A memory toooo long.............)
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To: dfwgator

You’re mistaken. I have been told numerous times that all cultures are equal.


33 posted on 08/11/2019 1:07:04 PM PDT by EEGator
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To: CondoleezzaProtege

“Why?”

Because...Swiss.


34 posted on 08/11/2019 1:11:49 PM PDT by Bonemaker (invictus maneo)
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To: CondoleezzaProtege

Switzerland didn’t destroy their culture by taking in millions of adult men to compete with their young men for jobs and affection.

Their elites weren’t as greedy as ours ... so their citizens are setting up families rather than setting up targets.


35 posted on 08/11/2019 1:19:18 PM PDT by GOPJ (Liberals virtue signal by showing how much crap they can overlook in the black community.)
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To: CondoleezzaProtege

The private sale and transfer of firearms is prohibited in Norway. A license is required for purchase of a semi-automatic firearm. The waiting period for a purchase is indefinite. Norway is very restrictive.

A recent mass shooting by a “paranoid schizophrenic,” “psychotic,” etc., in Norway only killed 77 people.


36 posted on 08/11/2019 1:21:05 PM PDT by familyop ("Welcome to Costco. I love you." - -Costco greeter in the movie, "Idiocracy")
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To: CondoleezzaProtege
PHOTOS: Every US Mass Shooter in 2019 Who Shot Four or More People
http://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3769530/posts?page=4#4

37 posted on 08/11/2019 1:26:31 PM PDT by familyop ("Welcome to Costco. I love you." - -Costco greeter in the movie, "Idiocracy")
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To: OttawaFreeper


38 posted on 08/11/2019 1:27:20 PM PDT by Bonemaker (invictus maneo)
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To: Bonemaker

Been to the CH. Would not want to live there.


39 posted on 08/11/2019 1:32:27 PM PDT by bicyclerepair (MAGA - DRAIN THE SWAMP ! - I love my online family of FReepers.)
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To: CondoleezzaProtege

Switzerland was bombed by the Allies many times during World War 2 in efforts to impede Swiss cooperation with Germany.


40 posted on 08/11/2019 1:36:01 PM PDT by familyop ("Welcome to Costco. I love you." - -Costco greeter in the movie, "Idiocracy")
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